Cushion-tread horseshoe.



N10. 733,639. PATBNTBD SEPT. a, 1,903.

LA. SBADONB.

CUSHION TREAD HoRsBsHoB. APPLIOATION FI-LED APB. 14, 1903. Y

N0 MODEL.

f IIIUUIIIHIIIIIUIHIII ALFRED A. sPADoNE,

Patented September 8, 1903i` PATENT Fries.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

`rusHlorq-Tm-:lxn HoRsEsHoE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart' of Letters Patent No. 738,639, datedSeptember 8, 19D3.

` Appiioaign inea Apru 14, 19.03. serial No. 152.543. (No modem To a/ZZwhom t mag/concern: h

Beit known that I, ALFRED A; SPADONE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in thecounty and State of New York, have invented a newand ImprovedCushion-Tread Horseshoe, of which the Vfollowing is a full,

. clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a cushion-tread for horseshoes; and the objectthat I have in View isto produce a cushion or elastic tread adapted tohold itself securely in place within the channel of a horseshoe withoutthe employment of external fasteners, whereby a Worn tread may be easilyreplaced by a new fresh tread while the shoe remains` attached to thehoof. 4

Broadly speaking, the invention consists of a cushion-tread having abody or length of rubber or other cushion' material and a key or anchorembedded infthe body'or length,

said key or anchor being of anydesired crosssectional shape and made ofsuitable mate` h rial, which allows the key or anchor under sectionsimilarto Fig. 3, showing another.

Fig. 5

the application of pressure to expand, spread, or iiatten in a Waytomake the body or length; of y cushion materialhold itself frictionallyWithin the channel of a shoe.V The invention further'consists in thenovel constructionand combination of parts to be,` hereinafterdescribed, and the actual scopej of the invention will be defined bytheaunexed claims. Q l.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specication,

form of a spreadable key or anchor.

is a transverse section showing the key or anchor of Figqt in a spreador iiattened condition to fasten the tread in the sho-e. Fig. 6 is adetail perspective view of a length or strip of cushion-treadconstructed in accordance with this invention. Figs. 7 and 8 arecross-sections through other forms of cushion-treads fitted to anordinary channeled shoe.

In order that others skilled in the art may understand my invention, Ihavel shown the improved cushion-tread applied to .an ordinary horseshoeA, the latter being provided in its under side with a tread-receivingchannel d in addition to usual nail-channels o. and the nail-holes b:The channels a of the shoe may'ha've inclined sides to make the channeldovetailed in cross-section, as represented by Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, '7, and8; but the particular shape of the channel is not `material, because myimproved tread is held so firmly in the shoe that it is possible toemploy a shoe the Walls of the channel of which are parallel, althoughany desired cross-sectional shape of the channel maybe embodied intheconstruction of the shoe.

The invention consists of a cushionor elas` tic tread 5, having aspreadable key or anchor 6 embedded therein. The tread 5 is prefer-'ably made of rubber; although any other equivalent material may beemployed. This metal, although any other material or combination ofmaterials may beused. As an eX- ample of one kind of material which Iemploy the anchor orrkey 6 is made of soft lead;` but it will beunderstood that any othersulbstance which will spreader Hatten underpressure may be embedded in the cushionftread. The key or anchor 6 inthe tubular form shown by Fig. 3 is arranged in the tread at one side ofthe longitudinal axis thereof, thus bringing the key nearer to the Hatface of the tread than tread is shown as having parallel sides and A aatbottom; but I prefer to curve the outer ICO lface of the metallic keyor anchor.

to the convex face 7 thereof. The key may extend .continuouslythroughout the length of the tread, and by making this key of soft metalit is adapted to bend with the tread and conform to the curvaturethereof in fitting said I tread in the channel of the shoe. The tread,with the key embedded therein, may be made in lengths corresponding tothe length of the shoe throughout the channel-thereof; but this is animmaterial feature, because the tread and the key may be made in a longstrip or length,substantially as shown by Fig. 6, said cushion-treadbeing adapted to be cut into shorter lengths to fit different sizes ofshoes.

In the practical manufacture of the improved tread it is found that softmetal will not adhere readily to rubber, and when the tread is forcedinto the channel of the shoe the rubber or equivalent material isadapted to spread and separate itself from the sur- To overcome thisobjection., I prefer to employ a layer of fabric or equivalent materialbetween the metallic anchor or key and the rubber tread.

This layer of fabric is represented at 8 in Fig. 3, and it is shown asbeing coiled or wrapped around the metallic key or anchor.

In making the improved tread an anchor or key of proper size is firstselected and wrapped or inclosed within the fabric covering or jacket 8,after which the rubber or other composition is applied to the key andits jacket, the tread is shaped in a suitable mold, die, or otherapparatus, and the product is vulcanized, thus securing the adherence ofthe rubber to the fabric and preventing the parts from separating whensufficient pressure is applied to the tread for expanding or flatteningthekey or anchor in a way to make the tread engage frictionally with thewalls of the channeled shoe.

Assuming that it is desired to fit a tread of the form shown by Fig. 3in a shoe, a proper length of the tread is selected, or this length maybe cut from a continuous piece of the tread. The flat face of the treadis now introduced into the channel of the shoe, substantially as shownby Fig. 3, and pressure is'applied to the convex face 7 of the tread forthe purpose of expanding or flattening the soft-metal key or anchor.This pressure maybe applied to the shoe in any suitable embedded in thetread, so as to leave inter! vening portions of the rubber tread betweenthe terminals of the soft-metal anchor.

In Fig. 4 of the drawingsl haveshown another form of the key or anchorat 9. This anchor consists of a metallic plate having an oset portion inthe form of an inverted V. Said key or anchor is embedded in the rubbertread atjone side of the center thereof, may extend continuouslythroughout the length of the tread, and it may be inclosed within afabric jacket similar to the jacket S in Fig. 3. The method of applyingthe tread shown by Fig. l to the channel of the shoe is similar to thatdescribed inconnection with the anchor (5 of the construction in Fig. 3that is to say, the portion of the tread having the anchor is fitted inthe shoe-channel and pressure is applied to the tread in a direction toflatten or spread the anchor, whereby the inner portion of the tread isexpanded to have frictional engagement with the walls of the channel, asshown by Fig. 5.

As before stated, the cross-sectional shape of the key or anchor is notmaterial, and in Fig. 7 the key is shown in the form of a hollow stripwhich is square in cross-section,as at l0, while in Fig. 8 the key isformed by coiling a length of metal upon itself in the form of a spiral11. It will be understood that the key shown by Figs. 7 and 8 may extendcontinuously throughout the length of the tread and that these keys maybe enveloped by a fabric jacket similar to the jacket 8 in Fig. 3. Whenpressure is applied to the outer face of the elastic tread and the innerportion of said tread is expanded, the body of the tread isdrawninwardly. If the tread before its application to the shoe isprovided with a flat outer face, the pressure and expansion will causethis outer face to sink; but this objection is overcome by making theexposed face convex in cross-section at 7, said convex face of the treadassuming a fiattened condition when the inner portion of the tread isexpanded and the outer face thereof is exposed to pressure.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. A cushion-tread having an embedded key or anchorof a cross-sectional shape adapted to spread or expand under theapplication of pressure.

2. Acushion-tread having a spreadable key orv anchor embedded thereinand adapted to expand said tread into frictional engagement with achanneled shoe.

3. A cushion-tread for horseshoes, having an expansible key or anchorembedded therein at one side of the axis of said tread.

IOO

IIO

4t. A cushion-tread comprising a body of bedded'in said tread andexpanded or spread to force the surfaces of the tread into frictionalengagement with the Walls ofthe channeled shoe.

6. The combination Witha channeled shoe,

of a cushion-tread having a spreadable key embedded therein, said keybeing expanded 1 bythe application of pressure to force the tread intofrictional engagement with the shoe.

7. A cushion-tread having an embedded spreadable anchor or key, said keyor anchor being enveloped by a jacket to which adheres the material ofsaidtread.

8; A cushion-tread having a soft-metal an- ALFRED A. SPADONE.

Witnesses:

'FRANK OMALLEY,

FLORENCE A. SULLIVAN.

